(My Canon 1D Mark Whatever SLR died an early death at 140,000 clicks* possibly due to the fact that I wasn’t ascared of a little (or a lot) of rain. Nowadays I’m def. skittish, but no matter,) you can always count on famous photographer David Yu to be on the scene rain or dry.

As he was last Saturday night in Chinatown and North Beach and SoMA and the Financh and all over.

*200,000 was the expected number of clicks I believe I was owed. ($300 minimum for a new shutter.) OTOH, my 5D Mark I has probably already exceeded its expected shutter life so I s’pose I shouldn’t complain too much. Living on borrowed time tho.

(Don’t even take along a brolly to the parade – you’ll stay dry this year, most likely, Gaia willing…) [UPDATE: The Internet MIC just came by my house and tore up my prognosticator license. From now on, I’ll leave this kind of stuff to the experts.]

“Full Price Tickets” from TicketMonster are going right now for $74, all up. And for just $695 you can get in on the Meet and Greet Package- wouldn’t you like a photo of you and Conan to put on the FaceBook for all your “friends” to see? Sure you would.

I don’t know, maybe you can score some cheaper ticks by using your AmEx card or going to the box office or something.

City Attorney invokes authority under Unfair Competition Law in seeking evidence for marketing claims by gender prediction test sold in S.F.

SAN FRANCISCO (March 10, 2010) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera today invoked his legal authority under California’s Unfair Competition Law to demand substantiation for advertising claims by Intelligender LLC that its in-home fetal gender prediction product, which is sold and marketed in San Francisco, is “totally safe” and over 90 percent accurate.

“California law empowers public sector attorneys to seek proof for marketing claims for products sold to the consumers they’re responsible to protect,” said Herrera. “Intelligender is a product that came to our attention in which some of the advertised claims are dubious, and for which supporting evidence is notably unavailable to potential customers. Women and families interested in purchasing products like this are entitled to see the evidence that will enable them to be better informed consumers.”

According to Herrera’s letter to the Plano, Tex.-based manufacturer:

“The IntelliGender Test purports to accurately identify the gender of a fetus as early as 10 weeks after pregnancy, and well before ultrasound confirmation of fetal gender is available to expectant mothers. However, according to online reviews of your product, it appears that your advertising claim that the IntelliGender Test is ‘over 90% accurate’ is questionable. Additionally, as your product packaging does not identify the contents of the IntelliGender Test, there are concerns about the safety and proper means of disposal of the Test.

“The San Francisco City Attorney hereby requests that you provide evidence of the facts supporting the advertising claims of IntelliGender listed below, pursuant to California Business and Professions Code §17508, which empowers city attorneys to request substantiation of purportedly fact-based advertising claims. For all claims listed below indicating that scientific methods were utilized, please include full reports of experiments, methods, results, and outcomes, in addition to the CVs and biographies of the clinicians retained to perform these trials and tests.”

Herrera asked that Intelligender provide documentation responsive to his request by the end of the month, noting that we would consider seeking “an immediate termination or modification of the claim,” as state law provides, if the information were not forthcoming.

Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Coronation BallFriday, February 26, 2010San Francisco Hilton & Towers
333 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco
(415) 982-3000
6:00 pm No Host Cocktails
7:00 pm Dinner and Dancing until midnight
Tickets: $120
The newly selected Miss Chinatown USA and her court will be crowned at the annual Harrah’s Coronation Ball. The black tie dinner/dance, attended by many community leaders, promises to be a highlight of the Lunar New Year festivities.

See below to discover if this show is coming to your town next. If you’re in Houston, Texas, you can get your ticks now. Otherwise, you’ll have to figure things out on your own. (You had to go through ShowClix to get tickets in S.F.)

[UPDATE: Now you can get tickets for all shows by clicking on TOUR DATES here and then on “RSVP” for your town. Still a few ticks left in Fun Diego, I see…]

This was the line early on going up Jessie Street betwixt 5th and 6th Streets. But everybody got in so long as they had their printed-out ticket. The Mezz at Triple Four Jessie appears to be a well run nightclub, with an aware but mellow staff that enforces rules without any unneccesary vitriol. Hurray!